AMWU National President Andrew Dettmer today called on the Abbott Government to lift its game in the crucial area of apprenticeships following comments over the weekend by NSW Skills Minister, John Barilaro, indicating that higher wages and more support were needed for apprentices.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) has condemned Minister Chris Pyne who this morning on ABC radio in Adelaide claimed that potentially building the first few submarines offshore would have no impact on jobs in South Australia.

Claims about a massive cost blowout on the Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) project for the Navy are wildly inaccurate and ignore recent productivity gains at Adelaide’s ASC shipyard, according to the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU).